State Department's 100-Day Report Misses Mark

Among other Cabinet departments joining Wednesday's Obama administration benchmarking, the U.S. Department of State published their 100-Day Report, listing its accomplishments to date. There are, however, several discrepancies between the report and recent history.

The State Department "hosted [a] trilateral meeting with foreign ministers from Afghanistan and Pakistan on February 26," the report stated. "The State Department played a central role in developing and reviewing the [Obama] administration's strategic review [and] has turned its attention to implementation."

Then on April 13, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari imposed Shariah in Swat, followed by a massive Taliban takeover in Buner, about 60 miles from Islamabad, on April 22. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remarked that "the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban" and that the state of Pakistani security "poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of [the United States] and the world" in a House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting that day. Pakistani paramilitary troops conducted an assault in the Lower Dir district of the Swat Valley, farther away from the capital than the Taliban's recent occupation, killing 30 on April 26.

On April 29, that reads as a testament to "significant progress on the [Afghanistan/Pakistan priority]" by "using the toolkit of smart power [...], convening, connecting, persuading and negotiating to reach [State Department] objectives" during the first 100 days of the Obama administration. Failing to contain "a mortal threat" is significant progress.

"In response to North Korea's recent test launch, Secretary Clinton conducted personal diplomacy with foreign ministers of the Six-Party countries and coordinated with Ambassador Susan Rice to deliver a strong UN statement condemning North Korea's launch and imposing new sanctions," the State Department report stated.

In response to the strong UN statement condemning North Korea's launch and imposing new sanctions, North Korea threatened on April 29 to conduct its first nuclear test in nearly three years and more intercontinental ballistic missile launches if the Security Council refuses to apologize for and amend the new sanctions.

"America must become the center of widening circles of peace," the State Department report stated. What part of widening circles of peace involves inciting nuclear reactions and ICBM tests?